Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball Coach Pini Gershon shows Jewish pride by requesting a change in game time so as not to cause Shabbat desecration by TV viewers at home in Israel…

Plus…Will smith and his wife visit Israel…He wants to be a “soldier for peace”…Pleeeeease!…
All this and MORE…

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Thanks to Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball coach Pini Gershon, Israelis viewing TV coverage of the European Final Four in Prague will be able to delight in BOTH the Jewish Shabbat AND a great basketball game!

Go, Yellow!

Will we be victorious again?

Maybe G-d is on our side…

The latest “soldiers for peace”…

Stick to reading the scripts, Will, OK?

A game won by Israeli economist, Robert Aumann and Co.!!!…

But…It’s NO Game that the Israeli Army is Playing to Prevent Kidnapping of Our Soldiers…

And Tom DeLay can rest peacefully, knowing that Israel is behind him…Marty explains
All this and MORE…

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The Nobel Prize in Economics

Israel’s Robert Aumann and Co. posit that most of life is just a game…

But THESE Guys Aren’t Playing Any Games

GAME OVER!!!

Here’s Some of Their Work:

Sasson Nuriel: Kidnapped and murdered…

Saved by the security guards (almost)

David Frost: Hedging His Bets?

Joins the Jihad at Al Jazeera

Tom DeLay

Maybe you didn’t break the law (technically), but is it moral to manipulate the system to get Republicans elected???

If the shoe fits…Well, IT DOES!!!!

All this and MORE…

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Especially with some serious clouds of war hanging over the Middle East…

New Show/Podcast!!!

Jon Voight

Massive efforts to bring Barbara Streisand to Israel, but Elton John delivers the goods…BIG time…

Then there’s Jon Voight…supporter of Israel extraordinaire…

Plus…The Prophet Ezekiel foretells massive oil spills in the oceans preceding the Messiah…First, America’s East Coast…Now, Egypt is being “slimed out” by oil spills”…

And…The threat of war looms over Israel from all sides…North, South, East and West…Reports of Israeli military in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan ..American, Israeli and German warships move through the Suez Canal on their way to the Persian Gulf, as Iran declares “state of war” on its northwestern border…

All this and more on “The Marty Roberts Show”…

Listen to the show…

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Please, Don’t confuse me with the facts…

New Show/Podcast!!!

The inevitable confrontation between the Israeli Navy and the so-called “Humanitarian Aid” flotilla of ships on the way to Gaza should take place tomorrow, on the Sabbath. It might be worth your while to understand just what Israel’s maritime blockade is all about before listening to all the media condemnations of Israel’s policy. It just might have something to do with the fact that Gaza is currently under the control of the terrorist organization, Hamas. Israel is currently engaged in an armed conflict with Hamas.

Oh, and by the way, there IS NO humanitarian crisis taking place in Gaza…thanks to Israel. Be brave enough to listen to the facts, presented right here…Plus…Protests against Disney’s crowning of a Jew as Hollywood’s next “Prince of Persia”…

I wrote about death threats against the producers of the TV cartoon series “South Park” and discussed it on my radio show.
(Click HERE to view the articles and listen to the show)

Bart Simpson Stands Up for South Park

Well, it looks like at least ONE cartoon series, “The Simpsons”, has the brass to stand up and tell it like it is. Apparently the powers that be over at Simpsons-Ville value the truth over political correctness…they see the right to freedom of speech as granted by the US Constitution as more than empty, meaningless words…and they have the courage of their convictions to come out openly and say it…more than a bit rare in these days of “fear of Islamic reprisal”…

Check out this week’s episode of the show, where the opening credits have Bart writing on the blackboard, “South Park – We’d Stand Beside You If We Weren’t So Scared.”

But even more powerful was the 10-minute bit by comedian Jon Stewart where he trashed the Muslim organization involved, “Revolution Muslim”, ending with him telling the group making the threats to “Go f*** yourselves.”

Amen, Jon…Couldn’t have said it better myself…

Eat my shorts!

Bart Simpson stands up for freedom of speech

Reprinted from JPost.com E.B. SOLOMONT

The writers of The Simpsons have come to the defense of two South Park writers who received a threat from a Muslim group over their recent depiction of the prophet Muhammad.

The Simpsons’ opening credits this week showed Bart copying a phrase on a chalkboard: “South Park – We’d Stand Beside You If We Weren’t So Scared.”

Last week, comedian Jon Stewart also rallied behind South Park with a 10-minute sketch that ended with him telling the group making the threats to “Go f*** yourselves.”

Stewart linked the Muslim group, Revolution Muslim, to Osama bin Laden and 9/11. And he noted that the New York-based radical group enjoyed the parks, entertainment and Jewish delis for which New York City is known.

“These numbnuts get to enjoy it,” he said. “All because of how we, in this country, value and protect even their freedom of expression.”

The South Park episode in question, the show’s 200th, broadcast earlier this month, takes on the Islamic prohibition of depicting the prophet Muhammad, and introduced the prophet dressed in a bear suit. It also lampooned Buddhism and Jesus.

Following the episode’s broadcast, Revolution Muslim posted an Internet “warning” to the show’s writers, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, predicting that they could find themselves in the same position as a slain Dutch documentary filmmaker, Theo Van Gogh, whose film accused Islam of condoning violence against women.

The article’s author, Abu Talhah al-Amrikee, said the writers had “outright insulted” Muhammad, in a post first reported by CNN. Amrikee told The Associated Press that his posting was meant to raise awareness and prevent it from happening again.

“They should feel threatened by what they did,” he said.

Though he said that “I could shoulder some blame” for any danger to the writers, Amrikee praised bin Laden.

“We look up to him and admire him for the sacrifices he has given for the religion,” he said.

Comedy Central, which airs South Park in the US, censored episodes that followed the controversial 200th show. The storyline for episode 201 includes Muhammad, but censors his name.

Parker and Stone, in a statement, said the decision was the network’s, not theirs.

“In the 14 years we’ve been doing South Park we have never done a show that we couldn’t stand behind,” they said. “Comedy Central added the bleeps. In fact, Kyle’s customary final speech was about intimidation and fear. It didn’t mention Muhammad at all, but it got bleeped, too.”

They promised to be back next week with a whole new show on a different topic.

“We’ll see what happens to it,” they said.

The “warning” posted at RevolutionMuslim.com read, “We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show.”

The site included a link with details about a Colorado home that Parker and Stone own.

Dutch film director, film producer, columnist, author and actor Van Gogh was murdered in Amsterdam by Muhammad Bouyeri, a Dutch-Moroccan Muslim, in 2004 after producing Submission, a movie accusing Islam of condoning violence against women.

Revolution Muslim head Younus Abdullah Muhammad, 30, defended the posting in an interview with Reuters.

“How is that a threat?” he asked. “Showing a case study right there of what happened to another individual who conducted himself in a very similar manner? It’s just evidence.”

He said his group “didn’t tell anyone to go to their houses and conduct violence.”

In this video, a palestinian cleric warns parents that it’s not good to threaten your children with Jews or demons or other scary things…it will cause their child to grow up as a coward…

Good child-rearing advice from the “religion of peace”…

PA Cleric: Don’t scare kids citing monsters, demons and Jews

Palestinian cleric on PA TV:
Threatening kids with monsters,
demons and Jews creates cowards

Reprinted from Palestinian Media Watch Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

A Palestinian Authority cleric has warned Palestinian parents that they shouldn’t instill fear in their children by threatening them with such evils as monsters, thieves, demons and Jews.

In a sermon broadcast on official PA television, the cleric lists a number of threats that parents use to stop their children from crying, including threatening them with “a Jew.”

He warns them that deliberately panicking their children with frightening images is not a good parenting strategy, because “Then the child grows up as a coward.”

Following is the transcript of the sermon excerpt:

“Bringing up children with fear, anxiety and panic, scaring them when they cry -once by mentioning a monster, another time a scarecrow or a thief, and some other time a Jew, a demon, or the sound of the wind and other things, in order to silence them. Then the child grows up as a coward.”
[PA TV (Fatah), April 23, 2010]

On Wednesday night, the Israeli Deputy Consul to England (who also happens to be female) delivered a lecture to a political science club at the University of Manchester. She was viciously attacked by pro-palestinian protestors as she went to her car after the lecture and forced to flee back inside the lecture hall. Police were summoned, who were subsequently also attacked by the rioters.

I heard the report of the attack on Israel Radio minutes after it happened. The next day, I searched all the news outlets for a report on, what I considered to be a very severe and extremely upsetting incident…Nothing…nada…gurnisht…Not a word in the press from anywhere around the world. Only today,4 days later did I find this short report of the attack on the Israeli Consul in England…but only in a rabidly pro-palestinian, anti-Israel arabic website!!

A physical, violent attack on an Israeli government official in England…on a university campus…followed by a violent attack on London policemen…

Wouldn’t you think that this was a rather upsetting event?

But no press coverage…no outrage…Are the British really so afraid of their new third column…the arabs???

If I were a Jew living in England, I just might be packing my bags about now…

Palestinians Attack the Israeli Deputy Consul to Britain

British protesters attack Israel’s deputy envoy

Pro-Palestinian protesters stormed at Zionist regime’s deputy ambassador to Britain Talya Lador-Fresher after her lecture at the University of Manchester on Wednesday

Reprinted from AhluBayt News Agency

The protesters were waiting for Lador-Fresher outside the lecture hall and immediately upon her exit, the protesters lunged at the diplomat, prompting security guards to whisk her back into the hall.

Following a consultation on the site, it was decided to escort her out of the premises in a police car.

The deputy ambassador was removed from the hall and into the police vehicle. However, this did not block the protesters, who surrounded the car and climbed on the hood, trying to break the windshield.

Lador-Fresher ultimately was taken away from the scene safe and sound.

Lador-Fresher’s lecture at the university was delayed by a few weeks out of concerns for her safety after information was received that violent protests were being organized.

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Or, just maybe, sometimes, not far enough…

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Two recent “South Park” episodes on Comedy Central satirized the Prophet Muhammad — one, showing Muhammad in a bear costume, left, elicited an ominous message from an Islamic group.

Web-based death threats against the TV producers of Comedy Central’s “South Park” series…Where is the American Constitution’s First Amendment when we need it?…And why are death threats being ignored?…

Also…Hamas TV cleric claims divine responsibility for the volcanic ash disaster in Europe…Divine…Yes…Anti-infidel…I don’t think so…

A message posted on SouthParkStudios.com, the Web site of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s production company

Niqab Veiled Muslim Woman

And…They are banning the Islamic burka veil in parts of Europe…Governmental powers gone wild?…

An ad by the Israeli Government Tourism Office was banned in England because it showed a picture of the Western Wall and the Jewish Temple Mount and implied that these sites are a part of Israel…imagine that…

The Advertising Standards Association claims that these holiest of Jewish sites in Israel are a part of the “disputed West Bank” and, hence, it is not true to say that they are in Israel…

It’s hard for me to comment any further on this idiocy, other that to:
1. Let you view the ad, below
2. Let you read the article proclaiming the outrage in the British press, below, and
3. Let you read the comments by the Honest Reporting organization
4. Urge you to join the Facebook group condemning this ridiculousness

‘Nuff said…

British Ad Organization Banned This Ad..They Say Jerusalem is not Part of Israel

Israeli tourism advert uses picture of Occupied Territories

Israel’s tourist office has been criticized by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for using images of the Palestinian-run West Bank as part of a package tour for a holiday in Israel.

Reprinted from Telegraph.co.uk

The advert for the Israeli Government Tourist Office (IGTO) boasted that one could “travel the entire length of Israel in six hours” and urged tourists to sign up for the trip.

But the images shown in the poster included the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock – the oldest Islamic building in the world, built in the 7th century – both of which are in East Jerusalem, part of the disputed Occupied Territories of the West Bank.

Viewers complained that the advert misleadingly implied that the areas pictured was part of the “state of Israel”.

The future of Jerusalem is one of the most contentious issues dividing the Palestinian leadership and Israel, which occupied and later annexed the east of the city following the Six Day War in 1967.

Israel’s approval of the construction of 1,600 new settler homes in East Jerusalem last month during a visit by Joe Biden, the US vice-president, prompted the worst diplomatic spat between the US and Israel in a generation.

The controversial move also angered Palestinians, who consider settlements a major hurdle in attempts to reach a peace accord, and who want occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state.

The ASA said the advert breached truthfulness guidelines and ordered it not to be used again, adding: “We told the IGTO not to imply that places in the Occupied Territories were part of the State of Israel.”

It added: “We noted the ad stated ‘You can travel the entire length of Israel in six hours – imagine what you can experience in 4 days’ and ‘visit now for more itineraries in Israel’ and considered that readers were likely to understand that the places featured in the itinerary were all within the state of Israel.

“We understood, however, that the status of the Occupied Territory of the West Bank was the subject of much international dispute, and because we considered that the ad implied that the part of East Jerusalem featured in the image was part of the state of Israel, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead.”

The State of Israel Ministry of Tourism (SIMT) said that the advert provided “basic, accurate information to a prospective UK traveller who wanted to know what to expect in Israel”.

It claimed that it was “entirely accurate to assert that a visitor to Israel could visit Jerusalem as part of a short visit”, adding: “Had the ad omitted a reference to a visit to the city of Jerusalem, it would have been incorrect and potentially misleading.”

It said that Israel “took responsibility to support the religious sites of all denominations, a commitment which also formed part of the obligations of an agreement with the Palestinian Authority signed in 1995″.

Logo of British Advertising Standards Association

UK Bans Western Wall from Israel Tourism Ads


The Advertising Standards Authority rules that an Israeli ad breaches rules on truthfulness.

Reprinted from Honestreporting.com

From Palestinian denials of Judaism’s historical ties to the Old City and the Temple Mount to the most recent spat surrounding the status of Jerusalem and Israeli building in Jewish neighborhoods, campaigns to disconnect Israel and the Jewish people from Jerusalem and Judaism’s holiest sites are nothing new.

However, a ruling by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has taken things to new heights of absurdity. The ASA dealt with a complaint concerning an Israel Government Tourist Office advert that “the photograph featured for Jerusalem was of East Jerusalem” and therefore “the ad misleadingly implied that East Jerusalem was part of the state of Israel.”

The Israeli Tourism Ministry responded, saying that:

the ad provided basic, accurate information to a prospective UK traveller who wanted to know what to expect in Israel. They maintained that it was entirely accurate to assert that a visitor to Israel could visit Jerusalem as part of a short visit. Furthermore, they believed that, had the ad omitted a reference to a visit to the city of Jerusalem, it would have been incorrect and potentially misleading.

The Ministry also reminded the ASA of Israeli commitments to supporting religious sites of all denominations and that Israeli jurisdiction over those sites and tourism there was agreed upon with the Palestinian Authority in 1995. According to the ASA, the Ministry also:

maintained that the present legal status of Jerusalem had nothing to do with the point at issue. They said it was only of relevance if there was an attempt to interpret the straightforward message of the ad in a manner that went beyond what consumers were likely to understand from the ad.

Nonetheless, the ASA upheld the complaint, judging that the ad had breached rules on truthfulness. Referring to the image of Jerusalem’s Western Wall and Temple Mount, the ASA:

considered that readers were likely to understand that the places featured in the itinerary were all within the state of Israel. We understood, however, that the status of the occupied territory of the West Bank was the subject of much international dispute, and because we considered that the ad implied that the part of East Jerusalem featured in the image was part of the state of Israel, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead.

Despite the fact that the final status of Jerusalem has yet to be determined through any negotiations between the involved parties, the ASA has, without the aid of international lawyers or politicians, come to its own decision – Israel is “not to imply that places in the Occupied Territories were part of the State of Israel.”

The bottom line – Israel can no longer feature Jerusalem’s Old City, including the Western Wall, as part of its tourist advertising campaigns in the UK.

Since when was it legitimate for the ASA to rule on the historic connection of Israel to its capital city and holy sites?

Israel’s Tourism Minister responded:

These statements join the list of repeated attempts by anti-Israel organizations to discredit Israel’s standing using absurd claims. The ministry will continue to promote marketing and advertising campaigns that make use of historic and religious sites in order to increase tourism to Israel. Jerusalem and its many religious and historic sites is Israel’s central tourism anchor that draws millions of tourists of all religions every year, regardless of political views.

The Tourism Ministry brands Israel as the Holy Land with Jerusalem at its heart, which beyond being the City of Peace, is the united capital of Israel. It is obvious to any thinking person that the Western Wall is one of Israel’s inalienable assets and as such it will continue to appear in the ministry’s campaigns. Just as nobody would dare interfere in the discretion of British state authorities on the matter of marketing Britain, the attempt to do so to Israel is illegitimate and non-negotiable.

Join the campaign to reverse this disgraceful ruling by the ASA. Please request that the ASA reconsider this decision as a matter of urgency – enquiries@asa.org.uk –

and

CLICK HERE

to join this Facebook group to help spread the campaign through social media.

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One was paid for by UNICEF, the other by wealthy American Jews…Still more proof, if you need it, that the palestinians are NOT Israel’s peace partner…More evidence that they continue to violate every agreement previously signed with Israel…And the world stands idly by…Not a word of criticism…Only increased pressure for Israel to make more and more dangerous concessions…And wealthy American Jews, like those at J-Street, are only making it worse…MUCH worse….Fortunately, the polls show that Americans and Israelis alike are NOT buying the bill of goods that the Obama administration, in cooperation with the palestinians, is trying to sell to them and Israel…Support continues strong for Netanyahu and the Israeli people…Stay strong, Bibi!!!…All this and more on “The Marty Roberts Show”…

J-Street Ad to Pressure Israel

Boycott Israel Ad..Paid for by UNICEF

Reprinted from Palestinian Media Watch…Click to read article

Reprinted from J-Street Website…Click to read article

Watch the bottom of the screen…BTW, Wolf Blitzer is Jewish…
Did CNN miss this, or……
With CNN, when it comes to Israel, you really cannot be sure…

Video: Twitter users sneak anti-Semitic messages onto CNN


Somebody over at CNN needs to keep a closer eye on the Twitter messages they air to the public.

Reprinted from National Post

The news network regularly airs tweets from their audience to show that they’re down with all this web 2.0, social media stuff and also to get those, oh-so crucial, well-thought out voices from the public.

Sometimes though, problematic messages do crop up. During a Wolf Blitzer, Rick Sanchez chat about the U.S.-Israel diplomatic crisis last night a number of anti-semitic messages appeared in the crawl at the bottom of the screen.

“Israel is greedy” and “The Jewish lobby runs America” read two of the messages.

With all due respect for modern “art” and “culture”, the holy soil of Israel is not the proper venue for a mass nudity photo shoot. Just as the land of the bible is not the place for casinos and legalized houses of ill-repute. We must hold ourselves in Israel to a higher standard. Not to speak for the Big Guy, but I don’t he think that He likes this kind of stuff, especially in his home…

Israeli officials divided over mass nude photo initiative


Tamar Regional Council head strongly opposes initiative allowing renowned American photographer Spencer Tunick to shoot in Dead Sea, while Tel Aviv Municipality, Tourism Ministry embrace project

Reprinted from YNet News Merav Yudilovitch

A report published by the Yedioth Ahronoth daily Monday regarding the possible arrival of American controversial photographer Spencer Tunick to Israel sparked both excitement and harsh objection in the Jewish state. Despite the assertion of relevant parties that the initiative is far from being finalized, fierce opposition has been voiced.

Tunick, who is internationally renowned for his mass nude photographs in public areas in major cities around the world has submitted a request to shoot in the Tel Aviv Port and on the Dead Sea beach. The Tel Aviv Municipality, who received the request, embraced the initiative and an element at the municipal spokesman’s office said, “This is a wonderful way of telling the world about Tel Aviv and its modern and vibrant nature.”

However, not everyone is equally as excited. Dov Litvinoff, head of the Tamar Regional Council which is adjacent to the Dead Sea said, “I categorically object to this project and have no intention of supporting it neither logistically nor in terms of budget.” Litvinoff said that the initiative was a provocation which may offend many sectors in the Israeli society.

“I am a very liberal and open person but as a public official I don’t think that the council which I head should invest in a project so controversial. After all, the Dead Sea belongs to everyone. A nude display of thousands of nudists does not promote the Dead Sea, it promotes the whim of someone who calls himself an artist.”

Tourism Ministry supportive

Despite his fierce objection, Litvinoff said he does not intend on hindering the shoot, should Tunick decide to produce it independently. “I won’t set up a barrier on Highway 90 to block his arrival or that of all those nudists. If they want they can come to one of the Dead Sea’s open beaches.”

The Tourism Ministry stated in response, “One has to bear in mind this is an artistic display. Minister Stas Misezhnikov welcomes the initiative for its great potential in improving Israel’s image as an enlightened, safe, modern and liberal country. In allowing this, Israel will be joining a long line of respectable countries around the world where Tunick has shot in the past.”

The statement further noted that the photographer is slated to arrive in Israel in April in order to check out potential sites. “We believe that a solution will be found which will allow the implementation of the project while considering all sectors of society.”

Israel has had a woman Prime Minister….We have a woman leading the parliamentary opposition in the Israeli Knesset, made up of many women members…Our girls serve in the Israeli Army, even in combat units…Many top executives in Israel are women…
But…We still managed to win a prize for sexism in TV advertising…for, of all things, Fairy dishwashing soap…

Fairy dish soap ad deemed most sexist


Panel of judges rules advertisement most offensive to women in 2009 is one in which comedian Gavri Banai, chef Israel Aharoni convince woman to wash dishes

Reprinted from YNet News Meirav Crystal

The television spot for Fairy dishwashing liquid was chosen by the Women`s International Zionist`s Organization as the most sexist advertisement in 2009.

The spot depicts a family sitting down to eat a meal together. At the end of the meal, the hostess’s daughter-in-law refuses to wash the dishes. However, chef Israel Aharoni and comedian Gavri Banai succeed in convincing her to do her duty and all ends well.

The ad was made by Adler, Chomsky, & Warshavsky for Proctor & Gamble, the company that manufactures Fairy. The spot was a awarded the dubious title as part of WIZO’s annual campaign against sexist advertising in honor of International Women’s Day, which takes place on March 8.

The four advertisements ranked most offensive towards women in 2009 after the Fairy spot were for Axe deodorant’s “No one says no to chocolate” in which women are shown fawning over a man because he smells like chocolate; Goldstar beer’s “I’m alone” in which men mock a female soccer player; “Stop pestering – Postinor is here” for the day-after pill which stars the blond women from The Amazing Race; and “Going the distance” for Do It Kitchens win which a woman is seen lying on a kitchen countertop.

The panel of judges was made up of experts from various fields. They chose out of 10 finalist advertisements.

WIZO awarded this annual dishonorable distinction for the first time last year to the Mei Eden commercial in which model Bar Refaeli is seen sensually crawling along the kitchen counter in an attempt to seduce a man with a glass of water.

Some countries would call this treason, like, for instance, any Arab country in the Middle East that Mr. Copti might choose to live in.(but he doesn’t…he chooses Israel) He is, in fact, a citizen of the State of Israel. Israel, by the way, helped fund this film which is giving Copti his 15 minutes of fame. He had no problem accepting the money and all the benefits of Israeli citizenship. He chooses to live in Israel, not anywhere else, as do all of the Arab citizens of the Jewish State. No one is keeping them here against their will.
How about a little grace? How about a little thankfulness for all the good you have received from your country?
You seem to be taking your freedom and human rights in Israel a bit for granted…
Copti says he doesn’t represent his home country,,the country that facilitated his advance in the movie industry and helped finance his film. I wonder just exactly who he DOES represent?…I guess just old selfish himself…

‘Ajami’ director: I don’t represent Israel


‘I cannot represent a state that does not represent me,’ Scandar Copti says just hours before Academy Awards ceremony

Reprinted from YNet News

“Ajami” co-director Scandar Copti said Sunday that he is not representing Israel at the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood, just hours before his film competes in the best foreign film category.

“I am not the Israeli team and I am not representing Israel,” Copti told Channel 2. “It’s a very technical thing. This is how it works at the Oscars. It says Israel because the money comes from Israel. You have an Israeli director, you have a Palestinian director, you have Palestinian actors and Israeli actors.

International Success
‘Ajami’ gets real, aims for Oscar / Reuters
None of Israeli film’s actors imagined low-budget drama would earn nomination for best foreign language film at Academy Awards. Directors’ strategy was to find first-time actors who shared similar backgrounds with characters and who would infuse roles with real-life experience
Full story

“The film represents Israel technically, but I don’t represent Israel. I cannot represent a country that does not represent me.”

Yaron Shani, the film’s other co-director, does not agree with Copti. “It’s an Israeli film. It represents Israel, it speaks in the Israeli language and it deals with Israeli problems. The representation question refers to problems of perspectives and political problems which need to be solved,” Shani said in the same interview.

Following the remarks, Science and Technology Minister Daniel Herkowitz (Habayit Hayehudi) called on Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat to launch an inquiry into the film’s funding by the State of Israel.

“The person who directed the film with Israeli funding may cover himself with Hamas flags tonight. If the film wins an Oscar, this may be a Pyrrhic victory for the State of Israel,” the minister said.

In response to Copti’s remairs, Minister Livnat said, “The film ‘Ajami’ was produced and received an Oscar nomination thanks to funds from the State of Israel, which Scandar Copti now tries to renounce. Without the State’s support, Copti would not be walking on the red carpet tonight.”

She added, “It’s sad that a director who was supported by the State is renouncing those that made it possible for him to create and express himself. Fortunately, all the others who had a part in the film’s creation consider themselves part of the State of Israel and are proud to represent it.”

The film’s directors and stars attended several Hollywood events over the weekend ahead of Sunday night’s ceremony. Copti told Ynet earlier that winning was not the most important thing for him.

“It would be nice to get the prize, but we don’t need it. It’s not a must,” he said.

“Ajami” will be competing in the best foreign-language film category against “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” from Argentina, “The Milk of Sorrow” from Peru, “Un Prophete” from France, and “The White Ribbon” from Germany. It is the ninth Israeli movie to be nominated for an Oscar in this category.